1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoemaking material and a process for producing the same. The shoemaking material of this invention will be used mainly for the inside of a shoe such as counter, cup insole, and injection insole.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional shoe is made up of at least 20 parts, including the outer leather and shaping material. The latter is usually thermosetting resin-impregnated paper or thermoplastic resin sheet backed with a foamed polyurethane sheet or non-woven fabric. This backing is intended to impart resilience to the shaping material. The conventional shoemaking material has many disadvantages. In the case of counter, for example, it is necessary to sew a molded plate onto the outer leather. The molded plate is difficult to handle and does not return to its original form after deformation. In the case of cup insole, it is necessary to attach a resilient material to a molded plate. Thus the conventional shoemaking process will be greatly simplified if it is possible to produce in a single step a molded plate made up of a hard core and a soft resilient face. This technique will also be useful to improve and simplify the process for making children's shoes which are currently formed by backing the outer leather with a resilient material like felt by sewing or bonding.
On the other hand, the resilient part of the conventional insole is foamed polyurethane sheet or felt. The former is undesirable because it absorbs no sweat and gets musty, and the latter is also undesirable because it absorbs sweat and remains wet with it. Thus there is a demand for a new material for insole which absorbs sweat to keep dry the inside of a shoe and yet dries as soon as it is undone. So far, there has been no material which meets both of this requirement and the above-mentioned moldability.